Earlier this year, the Financial Times (FT) claimed to have become “the first major news publisher” to launch an HTML5-based web app for tablets. While the company highlighted the many benefits the technology can bring, the motivator for the move was clear – to provide a way to get content to subscribers beyond an Apple-controlled ecosystem, which includes the company taking a cut of sales made to iOS device users.

Since then, the FT has been identified as one of the bellwether HTML5 players, a real-world proponent of the benefits of the technology.  In November 2011, it said that its web app had seen more than one million users since its launch, stating that it had “significantly boosted mobile and tablet traffic.” Earlier this year, it went as far as acquiring the company it had worked with to bolster its web apps capability.

But late in 2011, it announced a beta version of a new Android app, targeting “large screen tablets” as well as smartphones. Steve Pinches, group product head, emerging technologies, noted: “when considering the development of apps, the FT is pragmatic about selecting the best formats and technologies for the content, customer and our business model.”

Adobe’s decision to switch its focus to HTML5 for mobilising web content, over its own Flash technology, means that HTML5 has become a de-facto standard in this role, and as a tool to create apps to address the largest possible user base. But as the FT’s strategy shows, that does not mean it is the beginning of the end for native app development.

It remains the case that at least for the immediate future, native apps will be the best path for apps which integrate tightly with a device’s core features. And with native apps offering a proven option, undoubtedly many developers will want to wait until HTML5 is a little more battle-hardened before fully embracing the technology.

Indicating that the HTML5 path is not smooth, there has already been one casualty this year. Games developer Moblyng had to close its doors, having failed to successfully monetise its products.

While it has been forecast that 336 million HTML5-capable handsets were be sold in 2011, it has also been noted that implementation by different vendors has been patchy at best. This means that there is still some way to go before the technology can be a write-once option in the mobile space.

In addition, a session at the recent Mobile Asia Congress also highlighted that HTML5 has a number of issues, including fragmentation between multiple frameworks – replicating one of the issues the technology is meant to address.

Certainly for the foreseeable future, hybrid native/HTML5 apps seem to be the best compromise for all but the most demanding apps, where native will win the day.  By mixing native technology, with its robust and proven performance, with HTML5 to enable support for online content and cloud services, developers will be able to exploit the strengths of the various development paths while (hopefully) working around the shortcomings.

Looking forward, perhaps the biggest driver for HTML5’s success is the fact that the key drivers behind it are business oriented, rather than technical.

Fragmentation is a serious headache for developers, and a technology that can ease that pain is likely to be welcomed. Even if a certain amount of porting is necessary to tailor HTML5 apps for different platforms, this is still going to be a better option than the more serious re-compiling often necessary when moving between platforms now.

And the ability to distribute and monetise apps beyond the existing channels will also provide developers and publishers with new choices.

Steve Costello

The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and will not necessarily reflect the views of the GSMA, its Members or Associate Members